Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-11-30

a Legend Told by IL Native OF Rousny
VINO Has seen Fairies.
lChembcrs's Journ0Ll


Most people have heard of the Stand
inq Stones Of Stennis in Orkney. In a
silent circle they stand amid the solitude
of the moor. sllyered with the lichens OF
dead centuries. Tourists come and gaze
onthem, picnic beneath them, andspecu-
late vaguely as to how they came there.
Antiduaries also gaze and proceed tn
evolve from their inner consciousness
some theory t0account fOrthe origin otthe
stones. But the annals of the country
side have no legend OF the race which
raised them. All over the islands are
the vestiges of some busy tribe who
dwelt underground, and have left to the
worms and the rats their buried dwell
ings. known now as " brochs.' Yet the
strange fact remains that while these
people are utterly forgotten by their
/ successors the still earlier tribes, who
made terrible the islands Of Old, have
left their traces in the popular legends
with which the Orcadian children are
+ kept quiet in the long, dark winter eve
nings.
There lies on a moor not very far from
Stennis IL huge stone which was flung by
eiant in the island of hoy at his en-
envy. Cubby Ruo, in Rousay, full ten
miles off. That stone must have been
/ there for generations before those which
/ have outlasted man memory at Stems.
and vet the very name of the man
through whose quarrel it came there is
unforgotten. Cubby Ruo was bit OF
an engineer in his way, and determined
| To raise "a connecting mound between ms
own island Of Rousay and the smallerislC
I known as Wyre, or Vera. In the pride
/ of his strength he took too great load
( of earth and stones IN his creel, stumbled
and fell, and lies to this day under the
mound which he was carrying.
His island Of Rousay seems to have
been o fayorite haunt of giants, fairies
and supernatural people Of all kinds. II
! il separated from she mainland of DIRK
nev by n harrow strait, through which
runs furious tide. At certain hours Of
| the day two tides meet here, and then
meeting place, known as Enhallow
BOOST. is one wild whirl Of foam ano
/ leaping spray. IN the middle Of the
/ roost lies the little green isle OF Enhal
| low. The name is commonly held &c
mean "holy isle" and to have been
/ given the island from the fact that on il
was erected "A very early Christian chapel
( or hermitage 1t seems Just as proba-
/ bic. however, ina. the name IS derived
/ from Hela, the old Morse Goddess OF
death. BE that a. it may, tradition tells
7 that EnhallOW was once an invisible
4 island, only appearing amid the foam OF
/ the roost mt certain times, and vanishing
again before it could be reached by NOR
tai foot. 1t came to be known in Rou-
say-how we have not been able to dis
cover-that if any man seeing Enhallow
took iron in bis hand and kept his eyes
fixed on the island till he landed upon
I il he would reclaim it from the sen for
ever. This was done at last, and Enhal-
low has remained visible and tangible
ever since.
But for the adventurous there is hope
still. Somewhere near Enhallow there
hes another island, unseen of men for
more years than can be reckoned. This
is the story Of its last appearance, as
told me 10y native OF Rousay-one who
has seen the fairies and heard the wild,
strange music Of the sea-iolk:
One day, very many years ago, a
young girl went up 10 the hill opposite
Enhallow TO cut peats. Her days work
done. she was resting on the heath
or, when a strange man came up to her.
/ After a little talk he asked her to 20
with him, and though she refused at
first he gained such power over her
/ that he made her come. When night
came and she did not return her people
became alarmed and set out to seek for
her. High and low the whole island
was searched bat no trace found OF
the missing maiden. The wonder passed
away and matters fell back into their
old course. Some time after this
the father and brothers of the
lost girl went out to fish. They
were somewhat to the west of Enhal-
low, when u thick fog fell on the sea-so
thick they could not tell where they
were. At last their boat touched land,
and on going ashore they found them
selves, as they thought, upon Enhallow.
Going little further, however, they
found that they were on another island,
for they saw big house before them.
On coming up 20 this house they found,
to their surprise, none other than their
lost daughter and sister in the person OF
the good wife" She took them in and
gave them food, and told them she
was married to SEAMAN" and living
with him here. AS they were sit
ting the door opened and ga great
brown wlsp" came rolling in and went
chen" CA "wisp" is a huge ball OF
twisted heather rope. which Is used in
Orkney for matching purposes.) In a
few minutes handsome young man
came "but." lie was introduced as the
husband OF the young woman, and vel
coined her friends very kindly. Two
more visps came in while they waited,
and from each Of them came forth sea
man, who had been out fishing When
the men had to leave the house
the father asked his daughter TO re-
turn to Rousay with him, but she refused,
/ saving she was too happy with her hus-